DWAI Difference from a DUI in Denver and Jefferson County Courts
Colorado has established drinking and driving charges in two different parts: DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired). Whether you are stopped by police in Jefferson County or Denver County, you will face DUI / DWAI based on your blood alcohol level. The Differences of DUI and DWAI.
Police Charge DUI or DWAI Based on Your Blood Alcohol Level in Arapahoe County, Colorado
In Aurora, Littleton and Arapahoe County, Colorado, if your blood alcohol level is .05 up to .079, you will be charged with Driving While Ability Impaired, or DWAI. If your blood alcohol level is .08 or greater, you will be charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. Information about Denver, Colorado Felony DUI.
Definition of DUI / Driving Under the Influence in Adams County, Colorado
The Colorado definition of DUI is found at C.R.S. 42-4-1301, and means “driving a motor vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or drugs . . . which affects the person to a degree that the person is substantially incapable, either mentally or physically, or both . . . to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle.
Definition of DWAI or Driving While Ability Impaired in Douglas County, Colorado
Castle Rock and Douglas County Courts have a DWAI definition of: “driving a motor vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or drugs . . . which affects the person to the slightest degree so that the person is less able than the person ordinarily would have been, either mentally or physically, or both . . . to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle.
A DUI / DWAI blood alcohol content (BAC) of over .05 percent will put you at risk of a DWAI, and a BAC of .08 percent or over is in the presumptive DUI range. A “DUI per se” simply means that, even if you were driving perfectly well, and passed all the roadside sobriety tests, if you have a BAC over .08 percent, you can be charged with a DUI, and if over .15, then a Persistent Drunk Driver. This is also known as “excess blood alcohol content.”
What is a Persistent Drunk Driver in Denver, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge, Colorado?
You can be a Persistent Drunk Driver in Wheat Ridge, Lakewood and Denver, if you:
-Drive with a BAC of .15 or greater.
-Have more than one alcohol related driving conviction.
-Continue to drive after your license is under restraint.
-Refuse a police officer’s request for a blood alcohol level test.
Call Denver’s best DUI / DWAI lawyers at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.